She's the First
{{Short description|Global non-profit organization for the educational and interpersonal empowerment of girls}}
{{Notability|Organizations|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = She's the First
| formation = November 1, 2011
| logo =
| image =
| type = Nonprofit organization
| founded_date = {{Start date|2009|11|01}}
| location = Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
| leader_name = Tammy Tibbetts
| leader_title2 = Co-Founder
| leader_name2 = Christen Brandt
| key_people =
| website = {{URL|https://shesthefirst.org/}}
| focus = Girls' education; girls' rights
| headquarters = New York, New York, US; Nairobi, Kenya
| method =
| leader_title = Co-Founder
}}
She's the First (STF) is a non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "team up with grassroots organizations to make sure girls everywhere are educated, respected, and heard." She's the First was founded in New York, New York, by Tammy Tibbetts and Christen Brandt{{Cite web |last=Manuz |first=Shay |date=July 28, 2016 |title=Girl Talk: Why the Cofounders of She's the First Don't Want You to Call Them Cute |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/why-the-co-founders-of-shes-the-first-dont-want-you-to-call-them-cute |website=Glamour}} and operates remotely with headquarters in New York, New York, United States and Nairobi, Kenya. The organization's stated vision is "a world where every girl chooses her own future."{{Cite web|url=https://shesthefirst.org/what-we-do|title=WHAT WE DO|website=She's the First|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-10}}{{Cite web |title=Contact Us + FAQs |url=https://shesthefirst.org/contact-faqs |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=She's the First |language=en-US}}
In an article published by The Lily, co-founders Tammy Tibbetts and Christen Brandt shared the She's the First philosophy, explaining why She's the First calls itself a non-profit, for-purpose, or NGO (non-governmental organization), as opposed to a charity: "In the cultures and communities where we serve, when you give a girl the opportunity to be the first in her community to go to high school, you're also asking that she be the one to stand up when others question why it should be her. You're asking her to take on the burden of being the oldest, unmarried woman in her family, with all of the stigmas that are often attached to that. You're asking her to become the family's main breadwinner and to navigate how to handle the family's debts and financial challenges. And she steps up."{{Cite news |last=First |first=She's the |title=We don't do 'charity.' Here's why you shouldn't either. |work=Washington Post |date=10 January 2018 |url=https://www.thelily.com/we-dont-do-charity-heres-why-you-shouldnt-either/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |language=en-US}}
History
She's the First launched November 1, 2009, as a YouTube video{{Cite web |title=Meet 2 millennials helping educate girls around the world |url=https://www.today.com/video/meet-2-millennials-helping-educate-girls-around-the-world-485311043649 |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}} featuring the singer JoJo. The video emphasized the power of girls' education as a solution to global poverty. The organization was registered as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in July 2011{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Andrea Suozzo, Ken Schwencke, Mike Tigas, Sisi Wei, Alec Glassford, Brandon |date=2013-05-09 |title=Shes The First Inc - Nonprofit Explorer |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/651321437 |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=ProPublica |language=en}} and was managed by volunteers until May 2012, when co-founder Tammy Tibbetts was hired as its first employee in the role of CEO.{{Cite web|url=http://shesthefirst.org/scholar-stories-1/|title=OUR IMPACT (SCHOLAR STORIES)|website=She's the First|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-10}} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/1101167691 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/1100729548 cite #4 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. User:GreenC_bot/Job_18}}
In 2019, She's the First celebrated the organization's 10th anniversary{{Cite web |last=Luzio |first=Cate |title=She's The First Puts Girls First |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/cateluzio/2019/10/31/shes-the-first-puts-girls-first/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Forbes |language=en}} at an event featuring performances from Sarah Kay (poet), Desi Oakley, Grace Kelly (musician), and remarks from the organization's global ambassador Imaan Hammam.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-25 |title=She's the First Celebrated a Decade of Girl Power |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/shes-the-first-birthday |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |date=2020-11-24 |title=Imaan Hammam on What Makes a Role Model |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/models/a34760243/imaan-hammam-shes-the-first-interview/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |magazine=Harper's BAZAAR |language=en-us}}
The organization has collaborated with poet Amanda Gorman,{{Cite web |title=DAY OF THE GIRL #POWERofFIRSTs COLLABORATION |url=https://www.kimothyjoy.com/blog/2017/10/18/day-of-the-girl-powerthefirst-collaboration |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Kimothy Joy |language=en-US}} actress Erika Henningsen,{{Cite web |title=Erika Henningsen Reflects on the 'Singular Experience' of Mean Girls & the Future of Flying Over Sunset |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/199304/erika-henningsen-reflects-on-the-singular-experience-of-mean-girls-the-future-of-flying-over-sunset/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Broadway.com |language=en}} actress and producer Elizabeth Banks,{{Cite news |date=2019-11-21 |title=Virtue Hair Care Launches Campaign for She's the First |language=en |work=American Salon |url=https://www.americansalon.com/news/virtue-hair-care-launches-campaign-for-she-s-first |access-date=2023-02-08}} United States Soccer Federation She Believes initiative,{{Cite web |title=SheBelieves Ambassador Spotlight - She's The First |url=https://www.ussoccer.com/shebelieves/ambassadors/shes-the-first |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=www.ussoccer.com |language=en}} and the Obama Foundation Girls Opportunity Alliance.{{Cite web |title=Learn & Take Action: Commitments {{!}} Girls Opportunity Alliance |url=https://www.obama.org/girlsopportunityalliance/take-action/commitments/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Obama Foundation |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-10-19 |title=Michelle Obama Announces Obama Foundation Girls Opportunity Alliance Campaign |url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/michelle-obama-announces-new-obama-foundation-girls-opportunity-alliance-campaign-to-inspire-everyone-to-get-involved-in-girls-education-and-empowerment/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Black Enterprise |language=en-US}} Additional noteworthy supporters have included Glamour's The Girl Project,{{Cite web |date=2016-07-28 |title=Girl Talk: Why the Cofounders of She's the First Don't Want You to Call Them Cute |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/why-the-co-founders-of-shes-the-first-dont-want-you-to-call-them-cute |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Glamour |language=en-US}} NoVo Foundation,{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Andrea Suozzo, Ken Schwencke, Mike Tigas, Sisi Wei, Alec Glassford, Brandon |date=2013-05-09 |title=Novo Foundation, Form 990PF - Nonprofit Explorer |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/470824753/201523089349100617/IRS990PF |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=ProPublica |language=en}} American Express Foundation,{{Cite web| title=American Express 2017 Philanthropy | url=https://s29.q4cdn.com/330828691/files/doc_downloads/esg_resources/2017-Amex-Grants-List.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208021555/https://s29.q4cdn.com/330828691/files/doc_downloads/esg_resources/2017-Amex-Grants-List.pdf | archive-date=2023-02-08}} and Bobbi Brown Cosmetics,{{Cite web |date=2022-03-08 |title=Sandra Main underscores Bobbi Brown's 'pretty powerful' mission on International Women's Day |url=https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/sandra-main-underscores-bobbi-browns-pretty-powerful-mission-on-international-womens-day/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=The Moodie Davitt Report |language=en-GB}} among others.
In each year 2014–2022, members of the Nerdfighteria community have selected She's the First to receive a grant from the Foundation to Decrease World Suck through the organization's Project for Awesome charitable contest, founded by John Green and Hank Green.{{Cite web |title=The Foundation to Decrease World Suck |url=https://fightworldsuck.org/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=fightworldsuck.org/ |language=en-US}}
Activities
= Global Girls' Bill of Rights =
In 2019, She's the First led an effort to create a Global Girls Bill of Rights in collaboration with grassroots organizations and girls across the globe.{{Cite web |title=Global Girls' Bill of Rights unveiled at UN for International Day of the Girl - Upworthy |url=https://www.upworthy.com/global-girls-bill-of-rights |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=www.upworthy.com |language=en}} The bill was presented to Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the United Nations on International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, 2019.{{Cite news |last=Cole |first=Diane |date=October 11, 2019 |title=6 Young Women Went To The U.N. With A Bill Of Rights For Girls |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/10/11/769264644/6-young-women-went-to-the-u-n-with-a- |access-date=February 2, 2023}}
= Fundraising =
In 2017, She's the First retired the Child sponsorship model of fundraising that the organization had employed since its founding. Regarding the shift, co-founder Christen Brandt said, "In the end, human dignity is the most important consideration. If you are committed to eradicating systems of inequity, a sponsorship model actually undermines the ground you stand on. Sponsorship models are based on the very power dynamics we wanted to change."{{Cite web |title=How to Take Risks Without Losing Your Donors (SSIR) |url=https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_to_take_risks_without_losing_your_donors |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=ssir.org |language=en-us}}
= STF Summit =
Since 2012, She's the First has hosted an annual leadership conference called the STF Summit{{Cite web |last=Morin |first=Wideyveline |date=2018-08-30 |title=She's The First Summit Envisions A Gender Equal World |url=https://heragenda.com/p/shes-the-first-gender-equality/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Her Agenda |language=en-US}} for members of the organization's campus chapter network. STF Summit speakers have included Awkwafina, Jessica Bennett (journalist),{{Cite web |last=Manuz |first=Shay |date=2017-08-08 |title=Is it Cool for Companies to Use Feminism to Get Us to Shop? |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/is-it-cool-for-companies-to-use-feminism-to-get-us-to-shop |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Glamour |language=en-US}} Blair Imani,{{Cite web |title=How to be an activist (no experience required) |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/7-ways-be-better-activist-ncna791856 |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=NBC News |date=15 January 2018 |language=en}} Ann Shoket, Amani al-Khatahtbeh, Jamia Wilson,{{Cite web |date= |title=She's the First Summit 2016 |url=https://leadershipsummit2016.splashthat.com/}} Jamira Burley, and others.
Awards
- 2015 Outstanding Philanthropic Organization awarded by the Association of Fundraising Professionals NYC Chapter{{cite web|title=Association of Fundraising Professionals|url=https://www.nycafp.org/events/national-philanthropy-day/nominations|accessdate=3 December 2015}}
- 2013 Organization's Commitment to Action recognized on stage by Chelsea Clinton at the annual CGIU Conference{{cite web|title=She's the First Commitment Announcement - CGI U 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6IoQQRg0Lc|website=youtube.com| date=11 April 2013 |publisher=Clinton Global Initiative|accessdate=3 December 2015}}
- DVF Awards People's Voice Award, presented to Tammy Tibbetts{{cite web|title=The Fourth Annual DVF Awards|url=http://www.dvf.com/lip-service-blog/post?cid=blog-post-1865|publisher=DVF.com|accessdate=24 June 2013}}
- 2012 Seventeen Magazine "Pretty Amazing" cover contest winner Lindsay Brown, recognized for her role as President of the She's the First campus chapter at the University of Notre Dame{{cite web|title=And The Winner Of Pretty Amazing Is...|url=http://www.seventeen.com/life/a18838/pretty-amazing-winner-reveal/|website=Seventeen Magazine|date=7 September 2012 |publisher=Hearst Digital Media}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.shesthefirst.org}}
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